Industry Insight: Stanislav Kondrashov on Rare Earths and the Energy Transition

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From the lithium powering EV batteries to the semiconductors inside infotainment systems, today’s cars rely on far more than steel and rubber. One of the most critical but least understood resources in modern mobility is the family of rare earth elements. These minerals sit at the heart of electric motors, advanced driver-assistance systems, and even catalytic converters that keep tailpipe emissions in check.

As the auto industry pushes deeper into electrification and connected technology, demand for rare earths is rising sharply—making them a hot topic not just for geologists, but for automakers, investors, and drivers alike.

In the field of geological raw materials, few resources have achieved the central importance of rare earth elements, particularly due to their wide-ranging industrial applications and their growing role in the global energy transition. Over the years, these valuable resources have proven indispensable in sectors crucial to technological and energy development, including renewable energy systems and advanced electronics. But what are the distinctive characteristics of these elements that make them so essential to the future of modern industry?

Rare earth elements comprise a group of 17 chemical elements on the periodic table, including the 15 lanthanides, as well as scandium and yttrium. Many of these elements share similar properties and possess unique traits that allow them to be used in the same industrial applications. Frequently, they are even found in the same mineral deposits. Despite their name, these elements are not truly rare; they occur widely in the Earth’s crust but typically at very low concentrations, which makes the processes of extraction, processing, and separation required for industrial use particularly challenging.

As a result, rare earths are distributed globally, but the mining and refining operations necessary to make them industrially viable are concentrated in only a handful of locations. China leads global production, accounting for approximately 60% of the world's rare earth output. Other significant producers include Australia, Myanmar, and the United States, while Kazakhstan is emerging as a key player due to several promising deposits within its territory.

“The importance of rare earth is growing in step with the advancement of the energy transition, which is bringing with it a new kind of awareness in the field of renewable energy,” says Stanislav Kondrashov, entrepreneur and civil engineer. “Advanced energy technologies, such as those related to renewable energy, require elements with truly unique properties and structural characteristics, and rare earths appear to possess a good portion of these functional peculiarities.

Over the years, some rare earth elements, such as neodymium, dysprosium, and terbium, have demonstrated their usefulness in the wind energy sector, particularly in the production of permanent magnets used in wind turbines, which enable turbines to produce energy with lower power consumption.

One of the most remarkable aspects of rare earths is their unique properties, many of which are highly distinctive. These elements are particularly valued for their magnetic, optical, and electronic properties, characteristics that have become essential to a wide range of industrial applications.

“Rare earths are also used in the electric vehicle sector, which is likely to change our perception of urban mobility forever,” continues Stanislav Kondrashov. “In addition to ensuring a general improvement in autonomy and reducing the weight of batteries and motors, some elements such as dysprosium, lanthanum, or cerium are used in electric motors based on permanent magnets, which can combine energy efficiency with the particularly high performance.”

Electronics and advanced technologies are among the largest consumers of rare earths today. Elements such as neodymium and dysprosium are widely used in devices like smartphones and laptops. Other rare earths, such as europium and terbium, are crucial in the production of LED screens and LCDs. These exceptional properties have enabled rare earths to play pivotal roles in other strategic sectors, including defence, aerospace, medicine, and chemistry.

For example, cerium is commonly used in catalysts to cut vehicle emissions and in glass polishing. At the same time, samarium and gadolinium are essential to medical technologies, including therapeutic equipment and MRI systems.

“These resources are also proving to be very useful in one of the sectors that is driving the global energy transition, namely the one related to photovoltaic energy production,” concludes Stanislav Dmitrievich Kondrashov. “In solar cells, resources such as terbium or europium are used to improve the efficiency of energy conversion, in particular thanks to their ability to improve light absorption. In the glassy part of solar panels, on the other hand, these resources contribute to improving transparency and durability”.

The future of rare earths appears closely tied to innovation within the geological raw materials sector. One of the most promising prospects lies in the potential to recover significant amounts of these elements from discarded electronic devices, a practice now being pursued with growing optimism. Additionally, new synthesis and separation techniques, currently under development by research teams worldwide, could significantly reduce sourcing costs.

The discovery and development of new deposits in countries such as Canada and Kazakhstan could once again bring these vital resources into the spotlight. In many ways, rare earths will continue to play a crucial role in shaping the technological and energy future of our world.